A Karakura Ghost Story
by black.k.kat
Summary: Kensei and Shuuhei just moved into their new house in Karakura. Unfortunately, there are problems - two ghosts are already in residence. Ichigo and Kisuke have been there for a long time, too. A ghost story told in 100-word prompts.
1. Chapter 1

**Rating:** M (just to be safe)

**Word count:** exactly 100 words apiece

**Warnings: **Romance. Angst. Fluff. Slash. You know, my usual.

**Disclaimer: **All recognizable characters are the property of their respective owners. I am in no way associated with the creators, and no copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N: **Yes, this is another prompt list, and yes, I am insane to take it on the _moment_ I finished my other one. But **Cuzosu** sent me a list she created and it _devoured my brain_. This is the result. Pairings are Urahara/Ichigo and Kensei/Shuuhei. Premise is crackish. There is no excuse for my brain.

* * *

**1. Haunting**

"This isn't funny," Shuuhei growled. "Out of all the houses in Karakura, you pick the _haunted_ one to live in?"

Kensei faced him down across the ominously creaking living room floor. "And who was it that wanted to live in an actual _house_ instead of the nice studio apartment we had in Niigata?"

"Oh, so this is my fault?" Shuuhei crossed his arms and glared, ignoring the way the dishes were rattling threateningly in their cupboards.

A few paces away, the other, faintly translucent inhabitants of the house traded long looks. Ichigo sighed and Kisuke grinned.

"Congratulations!" he offered cheerily.


	2. Chapter 2

**2. Nap**

It was an adjustment, certainly. There weren't any guidebooks for this type of thing, and they definitely couldn't consult anyone but a raging lunatic (like that freak Don Kanonji, whose visit Kensei still hadn't recovered from) without being thought lunatics themselves.

Still, Kensei thought he was handling it rather well, all told. He concentrated on the eggplant he was peeling and very carefully didn't look up to see one of their existentially challenged guests go floating through the fridge. It was the blond with the freaky hat, and by all appearances he was in the middle of his afternoon nap.


	3. Chapter 3

**3. Bitter**

Shuuhei, who had always prided himself on being the calm, rational one in their relationship, was the first to seek out one of the ghosts. He chose the younger one, because he could tell that the redhead was the practical side of the duo.

"You're dead?" was the first question out of his mouth, and he resisted the urge to slap himself in the head as soon as the words registered. _Stupid, stupid, stupid._

Ichigo, perched on the third floor banister, shot him a speaking look. "Yeah, he said after an endless moment, and it was sharply bitter. "We are."


	4. Chapter 4

**4. Blizzard**

Their first clue that something was wrong came at the end of a very long day, one week after they had signed the papers. It was just after midnight, the restaurant finally closed up for the night, and Shuuhei was exhausted. Kensei was splattered with sauce and smelled like burned fish, and neither of them wanted any more than to fall into bed and sleep for a week.

With a low groan, Shuuhei threw open the door, took one step inside, and stopped dead. Kensei, behind him, leaned around the taller man and swore.

A blizzard of papers greeted them.


	5. Chapter 5

**5. Spackling**

"Oh, yes," Shuuhei muttered, slapping spackling onto the cracks in the wall that seemed to grow by the hour. "Yes, Kensei, a fixer-upper sounds like a _great_ idea! Why don't you go do your fancy-chef-thing all day and I'll stay in the creepy haunted house _repairing things_ so it doesn't fall down around my _ears_."

There was a low rumble. Somewhere in the house, a painting fell. Shuuhei groaned and dropped his head against the wall. He leaned there for a moment, uncaring about the paste in his hair, and just breathed.

Urahara leaned over his shoulder. "Missed a spot."


	6. Chapter 6

**6. Extreme**

"Will this really work?" Kensei asked dubiously, watching his partner lay out lines of salt in front of all the windows and doors.

Shuuhei looked back at him with slightly crazed eyes. "Work? It has to! They're driving me insane! I've tried hinting, I've tried asking, I've even tried ignoring them! It's time for extreme measures."

Floating somewhere near the ceiling, Ichigo looked down and surveyed the salt lines doubtfully. "That doesn't do anything, right? Should we tell him it's a lost cause?"

Urahara shook his head sympathetically. "No, no. The poor boy's so enthusiastic; don't spoil it for him."


	7. Chapter 7

****_I was planning on putting these up with one per day, but I've got such a hectic schedule that I'll just do it when I've got internet/computer access. So...Enjoy!_

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**7. Jackpot**

"I think we really hit the jackpot with these new owners," Kisuke said thoughtfully, idly phasing his hand through the bookshelf. "They're not exorcists like the last ones, for one."

"Or priests," Ichigo agreed, flipping through the volume floating in front of him. "Or mikos."

From below them, in the kitchen, there came a sudden crash of metal and then a streak of furious cursing. Kisuke grinned, tipping his hat back.

"I don't think I'd care even if they were," he said dreamily. "They're just so much fun to _toy_ with."

Ichigo gave a long-suffering sigh and turned another page.


	8. Chapter 8

**8. Insidious**

The presence of the ghosts was insidious, filling every corner of the house with a teasing, phantasmal feeling. Shuuhei tried to resent them for it, to justify his campaign to root them out, but truthfully, his heart wasn't in it.

This had been their home before it was his and Kensei's, and he wouldn't drive them away.

Not that he _could_, anyway, but it was the thought that counted.

When he looked up one day and realized he'd become so accustomed to them that Ichigo poking his head through the ceiling was _normal_, he gave it up and simply smiled.


	9. Chapter 9

**9. Moon**

Ichigo sat cross-legged on the widow's walk and stared up at the bloated orange moon.

"Only a few more days until Obon," Kisuke said quietly, dropping down to sit behind him. He pulled Ichigo back against his chest, wrapping his arms around the redhead. "Then we'll be able to see the others."

Ichigo nodded, tipping his head back against Kisuke's shoulder and accepting a gentle kiss. "Yeah. We'll have to watch out for Aizen and his goons, too, though. Shuuhei and Kensei won't know what hit them if he gets in."

Pressing their cheeks together, Kisuke nodded. "Together," he agreed.


	10. Chapter 10

**10. King**

"How did this happen again?" Shuuhei muttered darkly, creeping through the attic.

Hovering at his side, Ichigo let out a disgusted huff. "Because Kisuke is a child," he said witheringly. "As, apparently, is Kensei."

Shuuhei shivered as a breeze hit his bare torso and reached for the hidden door Ichigo pointed out. Before he could touch it, though, it flew open, and Kensei tackled his lover to the floor.

"Hah!" he crowed. "All right, Shu, take off your pants and say it."

Scowling, Shuuhei did so. "All right, fine, you win. You're the king of strip hide and seek. Congratulations."


	11. Chapter 11

**11. Trust**

It was a perfect of give and take, and they'd been perfecting it for over a century. Ichigo took the outside perimeter, because he was good with the obvious, while Kisuke patrolled the inside of the house, looking for more subtle signs of attack.

The dead swarmed the air, all but blotting out the moon for those who could see them, but Ichigo trusted that Kisuke would tell him if anything was going truly wrong.

For all that the night was nerve-wracking, it was relatively peaceful, and Urahara joined his lover to watch the sunrise.

"Another year safe," Ichigo murmured.


	12. Chapter 12

**12. Earth**

Kisuke floated a globe over to where he and Ichigo sat and then spun it, watching the continents pass before his eyes. "Two hundred years since we died," he murmured, "and the world is so much wider. I wish we could see it."

Ichigo looked up from the chess set and surveyed the dark, melancholy cast of Kisuke's features. With a somewhat sad smile, he moved to join the other man, pressing against his side. It was an intimate touch, and Kisuke spared a moment to smile at him.

"We're samurai, though," was all Ichigo said. "We have our orders."


	13. Chapter 13

**13. Tired**

"All right?" Kensei asked in amusement as Shuuhei staggered through the door.

"No!" Shuuhei snapped, glaring at him. "No, I'm not all right! They're worse than rats! Or dogs! All I want is a few quiet hours to work on my music, and what do I get? Ghosts! In the pipes, in the _shower_, _singing_—I can't handle it! Kensei, call a priest!"

Kensei looked across the chessboard at Ichigo, who looked back at him in bemusement.

"Shu, I think you're a little tired," Kensei offered carefully. "Why don't you lie down? I'm sure Ichigo'd be willing to distract Urahara."


	14. Chapter 14

**14. Snow**

"What is this, Hokkaido?" Kensei grumbled, shoving a sweater over Shuuhei's head. "Here, take it. It's going to snow."

Shuuhei rolled his eyes. "Is this one of those 'you put something on, I'm freezing' things?" he asked warily, settling the jumper over his shirt.

Kensei just huffed and turned away, adjusting the thermostat.

Ichigo came over to perch on the arm of the couch with Shuuhei. "There's still a fireplace," he pointed out. "What about that?"

Shuuhei shot the ghost a dark look. "Ichigo, don't you _dare_ encourage him. It's a sauna. Kensei's never adjusted to living north of Okinawa."


	15. Chapter 15

**15. Gift**

An explosion rocked the kitchen, sending a vast cloud of flour billowing out the doorway. Kensei came tumbling out underneath it, coughing and choking, and then spun on his heel to glare at the grinning ghost behind the disaster.

"YOU—" he spluttered, wordless with rage.

Kisuke raised his hands defensively. "Hey, hey, it was a harmless prank. Come on, now."

In the living room, Shuuhei and Ichigo traded glances and heaved twin sighs.

"I really don't know how you've put up with him for over two hundred years," Shuuhei muttered.

Ichigo snorted and shook his head. "It's a gift."


	16. Chapter 16

**16. Habit**

Shuuhei staggered out of the shower in the early hours of the morning, buck-naked and brain still in the process of rebooting even after his run. Habit aimed his feet for the kitchen—and coffeepot—without a conscious decision being made.

It was probably a bad idea, going by the yelp Ichigo gave a split second before he dove through the wall.

"Clothes!" the ghost shouted. "Damnit, Shuuhei, cover up! It's not just you living here!"

Kisuke leaned through the microwave, fluttering his fan in front of his face. "Oh, don't be a prude, Ichi. The view is absolutely _marvelous_."


	17. Chapter 17

**17. Bewitched**

"This house is _bewitched_," Shuuhei hissed the second Kensei stepped in the door. "Things keep _moving_, Kensei!"

Kensei gave him a long look, still dressed in his chef whites. "Shuuhei, have you been drinking? Did you eat that pasta salad I told you to throw away?"

The stare Shuuhei returned was flatly unimpressed, but he didn't speak, just turned and walked away.

That probably should have been Kensei's first warning.

When he came bolting out of the bedroom a minute later, half undressed and with a broom, two pots, and a mop in hot pursuit, Shuuhei said nothing, very sarcastically.


	18. Chapter 18

**18. Nightmare**

As ghosts, they didn't really sleep, any more than they ate. Still, they could lie down and close their eyes, and since time passed a little differently for them, when they "woke up," an hour or a week could have gone by.

Not sleeping didn't preclude them from getting nightmares, though.

Ichigo came back to consciousness gasping for breath he no longer had, one hand pressed against his stomach as if the staunch the blood flowing from the wound that had killed him.

Kisuke watched him with solemn eyes, twisting his hat in his hands. Neither one of them spoke.


	19. Chapter 19

**19. Puppy**

"Is that a rat?" Ichigo asked suspiciously, bending closer to the pet store box. The creature inside wriggled and made a yipping noise, its black-and-tan body squirming eagerly.

Shuuhei shot the ghost a glare and lifted the thing out, cradling it to his chest. "_No_, it's not a rat. This is Kazeshini, and _he's_ a dog."

"I agree with Ichigo on this," Kisuke put in, watching the puppy doubtfully. "That looks an awful lot like a rat."

With a huff, Shuuhei ignored them.

Ichigo inspected the food the musician had bought, and frowned. "Why get large-breed dog food?"

Shuuhei snickered.


	20. Chapter 20

**20. Sand**

"Whose idea was it to have sex on the beach again?" Shuuhei demanded, moving with a gait uncomfortably similar to a crabwalk. His only consolation was that Kensei wasn't looking much better.

"I think we'll both have to take the blame this time," Kensei said, stripping off his clothes as they got in the door. "But hey, at least no one caught us."

"Always a plus," Kisuke chimed in as he floated past, making Kensei squeak and cover his package. "Though that can be fun, too."

Shuuhei covered his eyes as his ever-helpful brain conjured up the images. "Oh, god."


	21. Chapter 21

**21. Dawn**

It was far, far to early on a Sunday—barely dawn—when shrieks and moans shattered the silence. Shuuhei and Kensei were out of bed and halfway down the stairs before they even registered the noise, and froze where they were as two indistinct, filmy shapes shot out of one wall and into the other.

Kensei dropped the baseball bat he held and turned to stare at his partner with wide eyes.

"Was that—" he began faintly.

"Ghosts?" Shuuhei finished dazedly. "Uh-huh."

Another shriek, and the shapes returned. The lead one cackled eerily as it passed, and Kensei fainted.


	22. Chapter 22

**22. Stooges**

Shuuhei groaned and pulled his pillow over his head, trying in vain to shut out the sound of the television in the living room.

The bed didn't exactly dip, but a presence settled beside him, and Shuuhei turned his head, shifting the pillow enough to see Ichigo looking down at him with sympathy.

"I take it you're not a Three Stooges kind of guy?" Shuuhei ventured.

Ichigo snorted. "Try Shakespeare. But Kensei and Kisuke seem to be enjoying it."

Twin howls of laughter made them both wince.

"Oh, yeah," Shuuhei muttered disgustedly. Ichigo sighed and joined him under the pillow.


	23. Chapter 23

**23. Delicate**

It was just coming dawn, the delicate light of early morning staining the garden pale orange. Kensei pushed open the gate, toweling off from his run, and paused. Ichigo stood under the cherry tree with another man, tall and regal. They had their heads bent together, and Kensei couldn't make out what they were saying.

As he watched, the dark-haired man took a step back, nodded in farewell, and vanished. Ichigo stared at the spot he had been for a moment, but looked up as Kensei approached.

"Who was that?" Kensei asked curiously.

"An old friend," was the only answer.


	24. Chapter 24

**24. Silk**

Ichigo's skin still felt like silk, even after so long, and even though Kisuke was so intimately acquainted with every inch of it. He feathered a kiss over Ichigo's nape, savoring the faint hints of sandalwood and sakura that clung to the younger man's skin, and tugged him a little closer.

Ichigo flicked a brief smile at him before his eyes closed again, a sigh fluttering Kisuke's hair. They were wrapped around one another, pressed together in a way that was intimate but had nothing to do with sex, and Kisuke couldn't remember a time he had felt more content.


	25. Chapter 25

**25. Addicted**

"You are such an addict," Kensei mumbled, watching his lover inhale the first cup of coffee from the pot. Shuuhei made an indistinct sound that sounded suspiciously like a sex noise, but didn't look up.

With a roll of his eyes, Kensei went back to his paper. "You know, I'm feeling underappreciated here. It's like you're only with me for my coffee."

"It's really good, though," Shuuhei defended, grinning when Kensei glared at him. "Sorry. Couldn't help myself."

"You never can," Kensei muttered.

Shuuhei pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Coffee's not the only thing I'm addicted to, you know."


	26. Chapter 26

**26. Forest**

In Ichigo's memory, there was a forest all around the house.

It was an old memory, certainly, but somehow it was always surprising to look out the window and _not_ see a thick stand of trees surrounding a dirt street. The house wasn't the same as he remembered, either, but that was easier to deal with.

The lack of trees always threw him off, though.

Of the forest he remembered, only one tree remained: an old Momi fir, fifty meters tall and with a trunk two grown men couldn't fit their arms around.

It was the last, but so beautiful.


	27. Chapter 27

**27. Slumber**

"_And who dares to disturb my slumber_?" A dark, shadowy figure rose from the old well, eyes glowing a demonic red, and turned to Kensei. "_Was it you, mortal?_"

Kensei's mouth hung open, but no words came out.

With a disgruntled sigh, Ichigo stalked around the well and yanked off the black sheet Kisuke had draped over himself. He planted his hands on his hips and glared at the older man. "Really, Kisuke? Really?"

Kisuke pouted at him, all lips and big eyes. "Oh, come on, Ichi. Harmless bit of fun."

"I wash my hands of you," Ichigo informed him.


	28. Chapter 28

**28. Paint**

Shuuhei stared blankly as Kensei stalked through the kitchen, covered from head to toe in crimson paint. "Ah…"

"Don't," Kensei warned him darkly, raising one finger in warning. "Don't even _start_." He spun on his heel and marched up the stairs. Distantly, Shuuhei heard the shower go on and the bathroom door close.

"Why do I get the distinct feeling that Urahara has something to do with this?" Shuuhei asked the empty space in front of him.

There was a brief shimmer and Ichigo appeared, shaking his head. "Maybe because you're not stupid? I swear—they're both like little kids."


	29. Chapter 29

**29. Strikes**

"So what number is this?" Ichigo asked dryly as Shuuhei slammed into the kitchen, radiating fury. "And will one of you be sleeping on the couch tonight?"

"What's the baseball term? Three strikes and you're out?" Shuuhei kicked the cupboard with a growl. "Believe me, he's so far _out_ that he's not even in the prefecture anymore_._"

"At least he'll have company on the couch." Ichigo gestured to the potato chip bag on the counter, and Shuuhei pulled it over, needing the comfort food.

"Urahara?" he asked.

Ichigo nodded. "I think he's at strike one hundred and twelve, and rising."


	30. Chapter 30

**30. Frigid**

The dark-haired man Kensei had seen before was back, expression frigid and foreboding. Urahara and Ichigo didn't look much better, and Kensei had to wonder just how a ghost could get bad news.

"You're sure?" Urahara asked in a low voice as Kensei paused, knife hovering over the vegetables he was chopping. "Ulquiorra's out?"

The stranger nodded. "Yes. Someone disturbed the seals. I'll know more when Renji returns."

Ichigo's hand dropped to his side, as though reaching for a sword. "And Tousen?"

"Still locked away." The man looked between them. "If they're gathering, we'll need—"

"Ichimaru," Urahara finished grimly.


	31. Chapter 31

**31. Bleeding Heart**

"I swear, Kensei, you're such a bleeding heart," Shuuhei muttered, pouring out more dog food for Kazeshini and the newest four-legged addition of their family. Tachikaze was bigger even than the German Sheppard, clearly a mutt, and just as clearly a bad-tempered fighter. Kind of like Kensei, Shuuhei thought, not entirely charitably.

"I am not," Kensei snapped back, manly temperament clearly offended. "But he was sulking around outside the gate, about to get through the fence. Might as well take him in anyway."

Shuuhei rolled his eyes and stepped back, surveying the pair of dogs. "I rest my case."


	32. Chapter 32

**32. Ginger**

The smell of ginger filled the air, sharp and slightly sweet, and Ichigo sighed, looking at the stir-fry Kensei was making.

"You know the part I miss most about being alive?" he asked mournfully.

Kensei shot him a look, quirking one brow. "Sex?"

Ichigo snorted. "I get plenty of that, thanks. Maybe even more than you. No, I miss _food_. And there's so many _new_ foods that they didn't have in our time."

There was a pause as Kensei tried to shake off the images his mind conjured up, and then he froze. "So last night—"

"Yep." Ichigo grinned.


	33. Chapter 33

**33. Trio**

The strange trio was back, Ichigo and Urahara grouped around the black-haired man who must have been a lord in a life, heads bent together in a way that screamed "war council." Shuuhei paused as he reentered the house with the dogs, watching them for a moment. The stranger was obviously a ghost, obviously a friend, but for some reason Ichigo and Urahara were keeping their distance.

"It's the only way," the man said sternly, and Shuuhei caught it as the wind shifted.

"No," Ichigo corrected stubbornly. "We've killed Aizen once; we can do it again. No stupid sacrifices, Byakuya."


	34. Chapter 34

**34. Blazing**

"Stay back," Urahara warned softly, but he didn't need to say it. Kensei and Shuuhei watched in silence as Ichigo strode across the garden like the warrior he had once been—the warrior he still was. He carried a long, black _nodachi_ and wore a fierce look, orange hair blazing in the dying light.

There was a man facing him, tall and brown-haired, smiling cruelly and also carrying a sword.

"What now?" Shuuhei asked softly, gaze unwavering.

Urahara watched his lover face down the man who had killed them, and raised his head. "Now we wait for Ichigo to win."


	35. Chapter 35

**35. Entangle**

"I love weekends," Shuuhei sighed, wrapping his long arms around Kensei's waist and burying his face in the older man's shoulder.

Kensei hummed contentedly, entangling their legs in order to pull Shuuhei closer. "And no ghosts."

Shuuhei closed his eyes, firmly pushed away all thoughts of what Ichigo and Urahara could be getting up to on a lazy morning like this one, and smiled at his lover. One hand ghosted down Kensei's flank, lightly teasing. "What do you say we take advantage of that?"

"I like the way you think." Kensei grinned and rolled over, leaning in for a kiss.


	36. Chapter 36

**36. Dusk**

The softness of dusk filled the air as Ichigo stood over the roots of the old fir in the garden. It was a Thursday, and there was snow on the ground, but if he looked closely enough he could almost see the pale ivory of human bone tangled in the roots of the tree.

Kisuke rested a hand on his shoulder, a gesture of comfort. "Anniversaries are terrible, aren't they?" he asked wryly.

Ichigo spared a moment to give him a small smile before turning back. "Yeah," he agreed. "They are."

The sun set, and silence fell over their graves.


	37. Chapter 37

**37. Grim**

"That color's a bit…_grim_ for a bedroom, don't you think?" Ichigo asked carefully.

Kensei shot him a dark look. "Shuuhei will love it. He's been complaining about the color for months now."

Kisuke, floating up near the ceiling, snorted softly. "Somehow, I don't think he'll be pleased to get back from a week at the studio to find his bedroom painted black," he muttered.

"But—"

"Top drawer of the bureau, far left," Ichigo put in a little desperately. "He's been looking at swatches. Use those. Otherwise, you'll be sleeping on the couch for a _long_ time."

"Smartass," Kensei grumbled.


	38. Chapter 38

**38. Fate**

They met when Kisuke was a disgraced samurai trying to make a living off his crazy inventions, and Ichigo was a headstrong young warrior with good instincts and a natural talent for fighting, but no training. There were bandits involved—lots of them—and a fight to save the people of the small village, which Ichigo had started and damn well finished, though a bit of help from Kisuke smoothed everything over.

"Fate," Urahara laughed as they cleaned their swords later. "That's what this is, my young student."

Ichigo grumbled and groaned, but despite the bluster, he was smiling, too.


	39. Chapter 39

_Because someone asked, there will be 110 of these. Cheers!_

* * *

**39. Chocolate**

"Ooh, what's that?" Kisuke leaned _through_ Kensei's shoulder as he whisked the ingredients in the double boiler together.

For a moment, Kensei just frowned, uncomprehending. Then he blinked, remembered who he was talking to, and got it. "Chocolate," he explained. "One of humankind's greatest inventions to date. I'm testing a chocolate torte recipe for the restaurant."

Understanding and mischief flared in the ghost's eyes. "I see. Is that the stuff that makes the lovely Shuuhei moan like he's having sex?"

Kensei blinked again. "Uh, probably, Shuuhei loves…" His eyes narrowed as he trailed off. "And you'd know those noises _how_?"


	40. Chapter 40

**40. Stars**

On the first anniversary of their moving in, Kensei set up an entire meal on a blanket under the stars, and he and Shuuhei drank and laughed and toasted together, all but glowing with happiness.

Ichigo watched them from the widow's walk, leaning on the railing with a fond smile. Kisuke stood behind him, arms looped casually around Ichigo's waist as they looked on.

"Look at them," Ichigo said softly. "They're so…"

"In love," Kisuke agreed, voice equally soft. "It's been a good year, hasn't it?"

Ichigo leaned back into his grasp and smiled up at the stars.

"The best."


	41. Chapter 41

**41. Pants**

"Explain to me _again_ how you managed to lose your pants on the walk from the gate to the door and ended up flashing the neighborhood?" Shuuhei demanded dangerously.

"Something tripped me!" Kensei defended. "It must have been those _things_ we saw yesterday! One minute I was walking, the next I was on the ground and my pants were just _gone_."

A put-upon sigh came from the vicinity of the ceiling, and Kensei and Shuuhei froze.

"Sorry about that," a disembodied voice apologized, and then faded slightly. "Kisuke, get your ectoplasmic ass back in here and return the man's pants!"


	42. Chapter 42

**42. Position**

Shuuhei had only just begun to adjust to the idea that not only was the house already inhabited, the other occupants were on the far side of dead. Two hundred years dead, to be exact. Coming down in the mornings to find the redheaded one puttering around the kitchen—he said something about liking the smell of coffee—had become commonplace, as had avoiding the many aggravating pranks left by the blond.

Kensei wasn't adjusting at all, so Shuuhei thought his own reactions were fair.

Still, nothing prepared him for finding their ghostly guests in a position quite _that_ compromising.


	43. Chapter 43

**43. Memory**

Ichigo wondered, sometimes, if his memory had stopped fading when he died. At two hundred and change, he was expected to be hazy on some of the details of his former life, but that wasn't how it worked. Everything was just as clear as the day he had died—maybe even clearer. And everything after that was clear.

It was a curse and a blessing, all wrapped up in unchangeable fact.

There was so much bad to suffer in two hundred years, so much pain.

But for every bad thing, there were also two hundred years of loving Urahara Kisuke.


	44. Chapter 44

**44. Fade**

"Back soon, Ichi!" Urahara called cheerily, vanishing from view with a jaunty wave. Shuuhei watched him fade with a frown and looked at Ichigo.

"Where did he just go?" he asked curiously.

Ichigo smiled, cradling a cup of tea Shuuhei had made in his hands. He couldn't drink it, but the scent was welcome. "Our swords were buried with those of the samurai we served with. When we want to see them, we can travel back and forth between the places."

Kensei frowned, too. "I thought samurai were buried with their swords. Why—?"

"Preventative measures," was the only answer.


	45. Chapter 45

**45. Yearn**

"You guys act like newlyweds," Ichigo murmured in amusement, watching Shuuhei smile dopily at Kensei's retreating back as the chef left for work. "It's adorable."

Shuuhei absently flipped him off. "We were stupid for a long time. I thought he'd never be interested, and he thought I was too young. You know what it's like to want someone so badly, but not be able to touch them at all?"

"Yearning," Ichigo agreed with a sad smile, and Shuuhei was suddenly reminded that the age difference between the two ghosts was even greater than his and Kensei's. "Yeah, I know."


	46. Chapter 46

**46. Attempt**

Kensei could have told Shuuhei that his attempt to rid their house of ghosts was doomed to fail. He'd already contacted all of the old owners, the local priest, and that weirdo someone had recommended. None of them had been any help at all. The most common suggestion he got was "Move," which wasn't encouraging.

He'd also done a bit of reading up on the local legends, though, which was one of the reasons he know it wouldn't work.

"What do you mean, 'futile'?" Shuuhei demanded.

Kensei simply held up the book portraying the Winter War.

"Battleground," was his answer.


	47. Chapter 47

**47. Fly**

"Can you fly?" Shuuhei asked curiously, eyeing the way Ichigo perched on the chandelier.

With a snort, Ichigo slid off it and dropped to the floor. "Do I look like a bird? It's more hovering, gaining traction on air. Not flying."

Dryly, Kensei put in, "I take it that's part of being a ghost, and not the samurai?"

Kisuke snickered and fluttered his fan in front of his face. "I'm afraid you're mistaken. All samurai are able to float in midair and pass through solid objects, didn't you know?"

For a split second, Kensei even looked like he believed it.


	48. Chapter 48

**48. Focus**

"_Kisuke_."

Ichigo's voice held a level of warning that Kisuke hadn't heard in at least a hundred years. He winced a bit, but slapped a grin on his face and turned to beam at his lover. "Yes, dear?"

Ichigo stalked forward to slap his hat against his chest. "Kisuke, I know that you love your inventions and you tend to get a bit _focused_ when you get an idea, but if you ever leave me high and dry in the middle of sex again, I swear, I will become the bane of your afterlife."

He was deadly serious.

Kisuke winced.


	49. Chapter 49

**49. Pillow**

As much as Shuuhei loved sunshine and warm weather, there was something to be said to lying on the couch while a rainstorm beat against the windows, a fire roaring in the grate and his head pillowed on Kensei's broad chest.

Kensei carded his fingers through the spiky black hair and smiled a little. "Finally relaxing, Shu?"

Shuuhei tipped his head back to accept a kiss. "Mm. I think I just fell in love with rainy days."

On the floor above them, Ichigo and Kisuke unknowingly mirrored their position.

"Comfy?" Kisuke asked, kissing Ichigo's forehead.

"Mm," Ichigo agreed, snuggling closer.


	50. Chapter 50

**50. Favor**

There was a stranger in their garden when Shuuhei went to get his bike.

"Sorry," the stranger said before Shuuhei could do more than blink. "I didn't realize it was sold already." He pushed his glasses up his nose with one finger, stepping away from the white chrysanthemums he had lain under the Momi fir. "I'll leave now."

Shuuhei looked at the flowers, and then at the young man. "What…?"

The teenager paused, considering him, and then said softly, "One of my ancestors fought here in the Winter War. It's a favor, his descendants leaving flowers for his old companions."


	51. Chapter 51

**51. Wolf**

"You're sure everything will be safe?" Shuuhei demanded, even as Kensei attempted to shove him bodily out the door.

"_Yes_!" the other man huffed in exasperation. "No one is going to break in. And if they do, I pity them. Urahara is feeling _creative_."

Ichigo thoughtfully floated their bags out the door, seeing that Kensei was busy trying to maneuver his partner into the car. "Right," he said dryly. "And if all else fails, the wolf will stop them at the door."

The huge, hulking black beast that had once been a cute German Shepherd puppy grinned toothily at them.


	52. Chapter 52

**52. Need**

Kisuke rolled Ichigo over, pressing him down into the soft grass under the Momi fir, and kissed him hard and sweet. Ichigo returned the kiss with everything he had, winding his arms around Kisuke's neck and pulling him closer as their lips pressed and withdrew, tongues flickering out to taste.

By the time they drew apart, both were breathless, and Ichigo was absolutely certain he'd never needed anyone quite as much as he did Kisuke. It hit him all over again, like a blow to the gut, and he whispered into Kisuke's ear with fervent desperation, "I love you, Kisuke."


	53. Chapter 53

**53. Dough**

"I wouldn't do that around Kisuke," Ichigo warned calmly, not raising his eyes from the magazine on the counter.

Kensei shot him a smirk and threw the pizza dough into the air again, spinning it expertly. "Why? He might feel inadequate? Incapable of the master culinary feats I cut my eyeteeth on?"

Ichigo raised one brow derisively. "Hardly. Do you have any idea just how many pranks Kisuke would be capable of doing with that piece of dough?"

Kensei opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, the dough shot from his grasp and wrapped itself around his face.


	54. Chapter 54

**54. Drink**

Shuuhei groaned into the agonizingly bright light and slapped a hand over his eyes. "Hey, Ichigo?" he rasped.

The ghost looked down at him with a mix of pity and amusement. "Yeah?"

"Do we own a ladder?" he asked, pitching his voice to just above a whisper. It didn't help his pounding skull.

Ichigo stared at him for a moment, and then shook his head. "No, Shuuhei, we don't."

"Then how am I on the roof?"

From two stories below, Kensei groaned and swore. "Fuck! I'm never going to drink again! _Ow_."

"I give you a week," Urahara chimed loudly.


	55. Chapter 55

_And here it is! The halfway point! Yay!_

* * *

**55. Cat**

"What do you think he weighs?" Kisuke asked interestedly, fluttering his fan in front of his face.

"Hm." Ichigo tipped his head to one side. "A hundred pounds, maybe a hundred and twenty?"

Kensei and Tachikaze both fixed their observers with baleful looks.

"Sounds about right," Kisuke agreed. "And the cat? What would you say? Ten pounds?"

Shuuhei shook his head. "Isn't that a bit generous? I'd go with seven."

Off to the side, the tomcat responsible for Tachikaze's cowering began to purr contentedly, washing its claws. The big dog shot it a wary look and skulked behind the couch.


	56. Chapter 56

**56. Innocuous**

Ichigo sat on the edge of the widow's walk and stared out over the sea. He tossed the innocuous crystal orb from hand to hand, not looking at it.

"It's not something good to dwell on, Ichi," Kisuke berated softly.

Casting him a swift look, Ichigo smiled. "The Hōgyoku isn't good for anything but destruction, Kisuke," he answered. "There's nothing 'good' about it."

Kisuke sighed and took a seat beside him. "No," he acknowledged, "not one of my better inventions. But so very tempting to use."

"An infinite power source. And what ghost wouldn't want to live again?" Ichigo agreed.


	57. Chapter 57

**57. Foot**

All Ichigo could see of their reluctant housemate was his left foot protruding from the comforter. He took a seat on the bed and said softly, "I'm sorry, Hisagi-san. We'd leave if we could, but we still have a duty to our lord. We can't move on, no matter how much you want us to."

Shuuhei sighed, pulling the blanket down to look at him. He hesitated for a moment, and said, "Shuuhei. We're probably going to be living together for a long time, Kurosaki-san."

"Ichigo," the ghost corrected, and offered a hand.

Shuuhei accepted it with a faint smile.


	58. Chapter 58

**58. Alcohol**

"I swear, men are such weaklings nowadays." Kisuke shook his head despairingly. "In our day, a man could drink twice that much alcohol and then fight of a horde of bandits alone on a dark road."

Ichigo rolled his eyes, knowing Kisuke was speaking from experience. "Yeah, I remember that. I also seem to recall you throwing your face at their fists a whole lot."

Kisuke sniffed at Shuuhei and Kensei's unconscious, thoroughly inebriated bodies. "Yes, well, I never said a man had to _win_, now did I?"

"No," Ichigo agreed. "And I distinctly remember having to save your ass."


	59. Chapter 59

**59. Death**

Death, when it came, was almost anticlimactic. Both of them knew it wouldn't be the end, that they—like Aizen—had tied themselves to the earth so they could keep fighting. And they were relatively free, not bound by spells to contain restless spirits like the former lord.

Pressing a hand over the gut wound that was killing him, Ichigo dragged himself over to Kisuke's body. The scientist was already fading, an arrow in his leg too close to the vein. Ichigo laid his head on Kisuke's stomach, feeling fingers comb through his hair.

They died together, as they'd lived.


	60. Chapter 60

**60. Disappear**

"I don't understand," Shuuhei protested. "Will you just…disappear someday?"

Kisuke and Ichigo traded looks, and the scientist nodded. "When Aizen is gone for good, I hope so," he affirmed. "We've…been here a long time."

"Yamamoto-sama charged us with protecting the Hōgyoku until Aizen was destroyed or it was," Ichigo explained, turning the orb over in his hands. "It's a source of almost unlimited energy. With it, Aizen could resurrect his army and conquer the world—or destroy it."

Kisuke's eyes hardened. "But we'll win someday. And then…yes. We'll disappear. Move on. And you know what? It will be absolutely _glorious._"


	61. Chapter 61

**61. Innocent**

"Don't even _try_ to pull that innocent look with me," Shuuhei hissed, glaring. "Kensei, you started a _prank war_ with a _ghost_. How was this _not_ supposed to end in disaster?"

"And you, Kisuke," Ichigo agreed, eyes narrowing. "I warned you what would happen if you lost control, didn't I? So don't even _think_ about trying to justify what you've done here."

He and Shuuhei glanced at each other in complete agreement and turned away, stalking into the master bedroom. The door slammed shut behind them.

Standing in the ruins of the living room, Kensei and Kisuke traded mournful looks.


	62. Chapter 62

**62. Annoy**

It seemed that, somehow, Kisuke's new mission in life was to annoy, terrorize and otherwise drive out of his mind the older of their new tenants. It was driving Ichigo up the wall, and he couldn't figure out _why_ Kisuke was even doing it. Kensei had never tried to get them exorcised, unlike Shuuhei.

A high-pitched shriek rose from outside, and a figure went tearing by the window, a somewhat transparent form in hot pursuit. Ichigo sighed and resisted the urge to bang his head against something solid.

It was small comfort that Shuuhei looked ready to do the same.


	63. Chapter 63

**63. Temper**

Ichigo's temper was…odd, Shuuhei thought. The redhead was quick to anger, quick to confront or strike the first blow, but it was all bluster and no substance. His anger didn't drive him. If anything, the times when he _wasn't_ angry were when he was most terrifying—like when he confronted the strange, monstrous ghosts that tried to invade their home.

At times like those, Ichigo wasn't angry. He was calm and focused and dark, and just a little terrifying.

Outside the gate, another malformed ghost-creature fell, and Shuuhei shivered at the sight.

Ichigo's brown eyes had turned to wild gold.


	64. Chapter 64

**64. Scent**

It was the scent of anger, sadness, and despair that pulled Ichigo back to awareness. He ached all over, something he hadn't thought possible as a ghost.

That didn't explain the sadness, though—like pale rose and lavender, cut with desolate sandalwood and a sharp spike of grieving mint. He opened his eyes and saw Shuuhei and Kensei grouped around the Momi fir, eyes on the old graves.

A touch on his hand—no longer insubstantial, as it had been for centuries—drew his eyes to Kisuke.

Kisuke, who was _alive_.

Alive, just as Ichigo now was.

"Impossible," he whispered.


	65. Chapter 65

**65. Mask**

Kisuke had vanished somewhere, leaving Ichigo alone on the widow's walk once again. He stared down at the thing in his lap, pensive, and didn't look up as Shuuhei took a seat beside him.

"A little eerie," the musician said at length, nodding to the mask he held. "Is it a ghost thing?"

Ichigo smiled a little at that, and lifted the bone-white and blood-red mask up to his face. "No," he said. "Something from when I was alive. We fought secretly, when we had to. Times were…hard."

There was nothing Shuuhei could say to that, so he didn't try.


	66. Chapter 66

**66. Interact**

"How is it you can interact with the rest of the world?" Kensei asked. "Aren't ghosts supposed to be intangible and all?"

Kisuke grinned at him. "Oh, but we are intangible, Muguruma-san. Haven't you seen us walk through walls?"

"That's the _least_ disturbing thing I've seen you walk through," Kensei muttered.

The ghost ignored him. "We can choose to be intangible, you see. It's fascinating, makes no sense whatsoever scientifically. But it happens anyway."

"Great." The chef dropped a box of light bulbs on the table in front of him. "Then you can fix the hall light. Get to it."


	67. Chapter 67

**67. Mark**

"You'll want to cover that up before you get to the studio," Ichigo offered helpfully, poking an insubstantial finger through the hickey on Shuuhei's neck.

Shuuhei slapped a hand over the spot with an affronted yelp. "Don't _do_ that, please," he hissed, then snatched a CD up from the counter and tried to use it as a mirror. "What is it? A bug bite?"

Ichigo stifled a snort. "Not unless it was a very enthusiastic bug with big teeth."

Comprehension hit Shuuhei like a runaway bus, and he dropped his bag with a growl. "_Kensei, _I'm going to_ kill _you_!_"


	68. Chapter 68

**68. Noise**

It was the noise that woke Kensei first, the sharp, ringing clang of metal meeting forcefully and then sliding apart. He lay frozen for a moment, wide eyes on the ceiling, before the sound of a pain-filled cry broke through the confusion.

With a soft shimmer, Urahara appeared in their bedroom, chisel-tipped sword in hand as he turned to the window.

"Go back to sleep," he ordered without turning around. "It's nothing."

But Kensei could hear Ichigo snarl a curse, a body falling, and knew it wasn't. Urahara must have read that on his face, because he didn't ask again.


	69. Chapter 69

**69. Taut**

Ichigo's body was as taut as a bowstring, fingers white-knuckled where they gripped the knife the guards had missed, the one Kisuke had built a secret opening in his waraji for. It took all of his concentration not to immediately lash out and give himself away.

Across the cell, Kisuke caught his eye and shook his head faintly. They'd wait until the guards came back for them, until they were closer to where their swords were being kept.

After that, it would be a short fight to the throne room, where Aizen would be, doubtless thinking he had already won.


	70. Chapter 70

**70. Stalking**

"How much convincing would it take for you to carry one of my bones around the city so I could sightsee?" Kisuke asked.

Shuuhei shot him a horrified look. "A lot more than you're capable of."

Kisuke pouted at him—and really, that was just as bad as the thought of wandering around with Kisuke's skull all day. "I bet you'd do it if Ichigo asked."

"Yes," Shuuhei agreed instantly. "Ichigo wouldn't use it as an excuse to stalk me forever. I heard that conversation you had with Kensei about bones leaving psychic impressions on the people who touch them."


	71. Chapter 71

**71. Explode**

"I'm going to be gone for thirty-six hours," Shuuhei reminded his lover. "A day and a half. Not long. In that period, you are not allowed to touch anything sharp, anything mechanical except the toilet, anything with an edge that could conceivably cause harm, anything pointy, or anything that could possibly, in some way, in some _universe_, explode. Understood?"

Kensei scowled at him. "Shu, don't you think you're overreacting, just a bit?"

"No," Shuuhei answered flatly. "The last time I left for more than twelve hours, I came home to the fire department and the bomb squad. Not again, Kensei."


	72. Chapter 72

**72. Mischief**

It didn't take more than twenty-four hours after the first real introduction for them to learn that one of their ghostly houseguests was fonder of mischief than was comforting.

(In actuality, it only took that long because half the time they were at work instead of home.)

The blond in the floppy hat had used that opportunity to booby-trap the front door, set a tripwire in the front hallway, arrange an ambush in the kitchen, and fill their bedroom with flowers that made Shuuhei sneeze uncontrollably.

Kensei surveyed the destruction with narrowed eyes and growled, "This means war, ghost. _War_."


	73. Chapter 73

**73. Choker**

Shuuhei and Ichigo eyed each other, the former ghost on one side of the bed and Shuuhei on the other.

"Come on," Shuuhei said, a little desperately. "You can't go wandering around in a samurai outfit forever. You need some clothes from this century!"

"I like mine," Ichigo retorted. "What's wrong with them?"

Before Shuuhei could answer, Kensei breezed through. "Playing dress up? Perfect. Give him one of your chokers, too. It'll go great with the carrot top."

As Kensei went flying bodily out the door, Shuuhei considered reminding him that Ichigo was a _samurai_, but decided it was unnecessary.


	74. Chapter 74

**74. Blood Lust**

"Stop, Ichigo!" Kisuke threw himself in front of his partner, sword at the ready, just in time to save Kensei from losing his head. There was a scream of metal, but he held his ground.

Ichigo, caught deep in the throes of a Hollow's blood lust, hissed furiously at him, but didn't advance.

"Stop," Kisuke repeated softly. "I'm fine, Ichigo. you don't need to do this. Let the anger go. I'm here."

An endless moment, and then Ichigo's sword fell from his loosening grip. He tumbled into Kisuke's arms, almost shaking.

"Shh," Kisuke murmured, holding him tightly. "I've got you."


	75. Chapter 75

**75. Woe**

Kisuke's look of woe was one for the record books.

Ichigo ignored him.

"Come on, Ichi," the inventor whined, when he realized pouting would get him nowhere. "It's just a—"

"_No_," Ichigo repeated flatly. "Gods, Kisuke, if this is your sense of humor, I have no idea why I even _like_ you."

Kisuke leered. "Of course you like me, you've seen me with my pants off, and I'm telling you—"

Ichigo slapped a hand over his mouth, growling. "NO, Kisuke. I will not go along with this stupid, juvenile prank. We are _not_ having sex on their bed."


End file.
